Infant Electroencephalogram Coherence and Toddler Inhibition are Associated with Social Responsiveness at Age 4

Abstract

Previous work has suggested that individual differences in infant functional neuroconnectivity are a potential biomarker for later cognitive and social outcomes, but the mechanisms are unclear. This study investigated a longitudinal model of infant frontotemporal electroencephalogram (EEG) coherence predicting toddler inhibition, which then predicted childhood social responsiveness. A structural equation model showed good fit, with increased right hemisphere frontotemporal EEG coherence predicting less inhibition at age two, which in turn predicted less social responsiveness at age four. These findings support the hypothesis that infant frontotemporal connectivity is indirectly associated with later social behavior, with toddler inhibition as a potential mechanism.

Towards an integrated account of the development of self-regulation from a neurocognitive perspective: A framework for current and future longitudinal multi-modal investigations

“…The latter network is thought to become more influential after two years of age and continues to develop well until early adulthood ( Posner et al, 2014 ). More specifically, several cross-sectional imaging studies have reported positive associations between measures of brain functional connectivity (as measured with EEG) and precursors of self-regulation, such as object permanence ( Bell and Fox, 1997 ; Cuevas et al, 2012 ), working memory ( Bell and Wolfe, 2007 ), attentional control ( Whedon et al, 2016 ), and inhibitory control ( Broomell et al, 2019 ; Swingler et al, 2011 ) in infancy and early childhood.…”

Infant electroencephalogram coherence and early childhood inhibitory control: Foundations for social cognition in late childhood.

“…The 5-month model supported the association between 48-month IC and 9-year SC but did not support an association between 5-month frontotemporal connectivity and 48-month IC. The hypothesis that individual differences in early infancy would predict preschool IC was based primarily on previous work reporting an association between 5-month frontotemporal EEG coherence and 24-month IC in the cohort of children who were part of the same larger longitudinal study but not included in these analyses (Broomell et al, 2019). Because they were 3 years older than the two cohorts of children in the current study, this other cohort did not have SRS data at age 9, which did not allow them to be included in the current study.…”

“…Among the many white matter tracts in the human brain are several that connect the frontal cortex with temporal brain regions associated with SC; these tracts show a linear increase in white matter connectivity beginning in childhood and continuing until early adulthood (Barnea-Goraly et al, 2005) As with IC, EEG coherence can illuminate how different neural regions are important for SC. Baseline right frontotemporal coherence in infancy is a longitudinal predictor of social responsiveness in preschool, so lower coherence was related to higher levels of social responsiveness (Broomell et al, 2019), which may be related to individual differences in the integrity of white matter tracts. To summarize, the connectivity between frontal cortex and areas in the temporal lobe is important for aspects of social behavior including language and emotion regulation, as well as EF.…”

“…As with IC, EEG coherence can illuminate how different neural regions are important for SC. Baseline right frontotemporal coherence in infancy is a longitudinal predictor of social responsiveness in preschool, so lower coherence was related to higher levels of social responsiveness (Broomell et al, 2019), which may be related to individual differences in the integrity of white matter tracts. To summarize, the connectivity between frontal cortex and areas in the temporal lobe is important for aspects of social behavior including language and emotion regulation, as well as EF.…”

Connecting the dots

“…In a previous cross-sectional study with 10-month-old infants and testing the network characteristics of path length, clustering coefficient, and smallworldness showed that in alpha and theta frequency bands, we found reliable metrics over sessions (van der Velde, . Additionally, both theta and alpha networks have been related to social van der Velde et al, 2021) and self-regulation development (Bell, 2012;Broomell, Savla, & Bell, 2019;Swingler, Willoughby, & Calkins, 2011).…”